F17: Myofunctional Treatment in Orthodontics

Myofunctional therapy is an important aspect of treatment patients with tongue ties, improper swallows and many other aspects of eating and speech. By introducing myofunctional therapy into orthodontic treatment plans it can increase retention and achieve better and more stable results. By retraining the tongue, correcting the swallow and strengthening the muscles of the tongue and face with myofunctional therapy it can enhance the orthodontic treatment by bringing back proper function that was lost or created by habits over the years.

Educational Objectives:

• Learn simple myofunctional exercises

• Goals of Myofunctional Therapy.

• Learn how a proper tongue posture will help with speech and arch development.

• Learn how proper swallowing pattern prevent orthodontic relapse and may prevent and/or alleviate GI issues.

• Learn how to recognize a tongue tie and how to help retain the release results with myofunctional therapy.

• Learn how strengthening the tongue can help with snoring and sleep apnea patients.

• Learn how to recognize when myofunctional therapy should be part of the treatment process for your patients.